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Revelation 17:9-11
Revelation 17:9 (NKJV) declares, “9“Here is the mind which has wisdom: The seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman sits.” The woman is, as we have already learned, the sinful nature as a whole. The seven heads which are seven mountains is, as the scholars agree, and would have been common knowledge for anyone reading this when it was first written, is a reference to Rome as it has been referred to as the city built on seven hills.
Revelation 17:10-11 states, “10There are also seven kings. Five have fallen, one is, and the other has not yet come. And when he comes, he must continue a short time. 11The beast that was, and is not, is himself also the eighth, and is of the seven, and is going to perdition.” The seven kings have been compared to being seven Roman emperors, and the eighth one that has yet to rule, but another possibility is that the seven kings is representative of seven risings of evil power as a whole as the number seven is the number of completeness and would represent that the rule of the evil kingdoms has come to completion, with the eighth king being the antichrist himself. The ending of Revelation 17:11(NKJV) states, “and is going to perdition” and is a reference to destruction (NIV) for all of evil.
This is the explanation of the rise and fall of the evil kingdom of this world.
We have all some historical knowledge of the evil kingdoms of this world and of the evils that they have done. We can speculate which ones are the seven, and eighth kings of this world that will ultimately be the recipients of destruction. But the main point that we need to make here is that we should not be following these kings or kingdoms of the evilness of this world. When God gave the Ten Commandments to Moses, He declared,
“I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.
“You shall have no other gods before Me.
“You shall not make for yourself a carved image – any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; you shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me, but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments” (Exodus 20:2-6).
Dear LORD,
As we study these Bible passages that have numerous possibilities of the exact kings or kingdoms that are being referenced, please help us to not become more focused on debating who the kings and kingdoms are than the lesson at hand of the evils in this world and the warning You give us to remove ourselves from following these wicked sinful ways and to put our trust and faith in You to save us from these evils. In Jesus name I pray, amen.